Imagine yourself on a street...

Imagine yourself on a street, a street PACKED with people, none of whom look like you but enjoy staring at you and pinching your daughter's cheek. Now imagine that the street is in shambles... rocky, puddles, mud, trash. There are no curbs, but where curbs would be there are shops, dozens, no, hundreds of tiny shops... shop after shop after shop. Textiles, clothing, food, watches, light fixtures, toys, decorations... and on and on and on. And at each one, there are those doing the selling who call to you and work to tempt you to browse and to buy. It is hot, of course; your clothes stick to your body, dirt clings to your skin. The crowd pushes you along, the buses push you aside... honk, honk... honk, honk. Rickshaws, motorcycles, buses, men, women, children, babies - literally thousands, but only one with blue eyes and blonde curls.

And imagine a small tap, tap, tap on your leg. You barely feel it. Then again, tap, tap, tap. You look down, and there you see a young boy in rags, maybe 5 years old, holding out an empty hand. And he looks at you and your white skin and your blonde daughter and your clean clothes and your purse and your camera. And you've never felt so dirty.

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That is my best attempt at describing the street we explored today. It was about a 10 minute drive from the Alfred's house, near the train station. We were there with Adam Black, the doctor at JSK who is serving here for three years with his wife and two young children. His prayer group (of about 6 people) from his church back in Scotland, here for a week long visit, also toured this street with us. Had we not stood out so much because of our skin and flashing cameras it would have been a nightmare to try to stick together.

We made the trip across town with our new Scottish friends via Adam's van, but our return trip was in a rickshaw. Now, imagine a golf cart... :) But forget the lush green grass and fresh summer air. Picture the street again. Picture a maze of such streets, filled with people, motorcyles with 4 passengers and no helmets, buses, bicycles, and hundreds, no, thousands of other rickshaws. Zig-zagging in and out of this maze, this madness, the three of us held on and enjoyed the ride home to the quiet of our neighborhood, Vasant Vihar. This neighborhood never appeared so quiet to me!

But now, at 9:30pm, there is not a quiet street Thane, or anywhere in Mumbai for that matter. It is Diwali, the Festival of Lights, the Hindu new year, and all around us are explosions of fireworks, it's the 4th of July on steriods.

And yet, our darling Elise is sound asleep upstairs. Somehow the ongoing BOOMS! barely phase her. Occasionally she'd take notice, light up with a smile, and say, "Noise! Boom!" She's really amazing. So, rest well, Nana, Papa, Gamma, and Poppy. Your little angel is doing fine. We're all doing just fine.

Love,
Andrea